Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: Sirius' Awakening

Notes: Hola All! Sorry for the delay in posting an update but life is insane right now. Anyway, the plot is moving ahead! Thanks to all who fav'd and followed! ENJOY LOVELIES!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.

Previously:

When he entered his dorm room he once again brushed off James calling his name and collected his things to change and get ready for bed; he truly had no desire to have a confrontation with James right now. Sirius was just too damn tired to deal with the Potter heir's ranting and raving.

Remus, apparently, saw how exhausted Sirius was and captured James attention by asking him who he favored for the English League's Quidditch Cup this year. Sirius gave the Werewolf a grateful nod before slipping into the washroom. Peter was finishing up his ablutions and gave him a small smile before leaving the room.

The grey eyed wizard quickly finished his nightly routine and changed into his sleep pants. All ready for bed he exited the bathroom and put away his things before slipping into his four-poster bed and drawing the curtains closed. In the darkness of his bed he cast several spells; a silencing charm that blocked out all outside noise and a locking charm on the curtains so no one could open them.

Before lying down he set a Tempus alarm for seven in the morning. Alarm set he placed his wand under his pillow and settled down for a good night's rest.

*~*~*~*Chapter 8~*~*~*

A few days later found Sirius in Herbology, sitting right next to Peter as the smaller boy tried to explain the finer aspects of trimming Devil's Snare; why the hell Sirius would ever want anything to do with the maintenance of the foul plant was a mystery but as this would be on their O.W.L.s the Black heir figured he would pay attention to what his friend was saying.

Plus, Severus mentioned during their tutoring session a few days ago in the library that understanding Herbology would make grasping Potions easier since the process of brewing revolved mostly around the ingredients used, the method of preparing said ingredients, and of course understanding the compostion of said plants helped the brewer to understand the reason behind the how and when you added them to the cauldron. Not to mention how stirring a certain way would affect the plant's properties before they were allowed to blend into the potion.

It was nice spending time with Peter, even if he was dodging a homicidal plant hell bent on strangling him. The two teens hadn't had a lot of time to hang out together seeing as the tension between James and Sirius was becoming unbearable and it was affecting Peter and Remus' interactions with the two heirs. Remus, as usual, was trying to be both of their friends while Peter, who wasn't one for confrontation, stayed out of the way of both irritated boys.

Peter the taller teen to get his attention back onto him and his herbological explanations; not that Sirius was really listening anymore. As a matter of fact he was too busy eye fucking his love interest. Severus, who was currently stationed and working on the other side of the room, was bending over to pick up his fallen sheers, giving Sirius' a wonderful view of that pert, plump backside.

The grey eyed teen thought the Prince heir should take his over robes off more often if that wonderful arse would be exposed for Sirius' hungry eyes. Then again other people would be able to see and examine his crush's extremely attractive assets. On second thought Severus was never allowed to walk around without robes until the grey eyed wizard had claimed him thoroughly as his own.

The Devil's Snare sliding over his wrist broke him out of his staring contest with Severus' arse. With a glare at the offending black vine thing he pulled his wand before the plant could slither further up his arm and muttered a powerful Stinging Hex; the Snare pulled away quickly and if it could it probably would have yelped in pain. Peter gave him a look of disapproval before going back to tending the stupid plant.

By the end of the class Sirius felt like he had a tentative grasp on the pointless subject of Herbology and also got to spend some time taking part in his favorite hobby; Severus watching. Though he would like to do more than just watch his crush but the Black heir knew he would have to give Severus a little bit of time to adjust to Sirius' affections for him.

The newly crowned Prince didn't do well when he was rushed or pressured into something and Sirius was loath to force the younger boy to make a decision about them at this point. Nope, for right now he would spend time with the Slytherin and let the other know he was harboring feelings for him but the ball was now in Severus' court. Sirius made the first move after their study date; now it was Severus' turn to show if he was interested in pursuing something with Sirius.

Knowing his little Prince it would be something subtle and shy while at the same time letting Sirius know just what the onyx eyed teen felt about the Black heir. He just had to be patient and wait it out; it wouldn't do to scare his love interest off now that he finally got the Slytherin's attention. With a sigh he focused on Peter, who was walking next to him, and noticed that they were alone; well wasn't that perfect for what Sirius wanted to do.

The taller teen stopped and waited for Peter to stop as well. When the blonde ceased walking and turned toward Sirius the Black heir started talking; "Pete, I need to talk to you. Not here it's to open but meet me in the library tonight at seven thirty and I'll explain what's going on, alright? Don't tell James or Remus where you're going. Please, this is important to me."

Pettigrew looked hard at his fellow Marauder and nodded his head; "Alright, Siri, I'll come but this better be good. I don't know what's been going on with you lately and I don't like it one bit. Something's happened and it changed you and I don't know if was for the better or for the worst." With a shake of his blonde head Peter began to walk away from the Black heir; "But I guess I'll find out what's going later tonight won't I, Sirius."

The grey eyed teen merely smiled but said nothing when he caught back up to his friend. When they entered the castle Sirius excused himself and went to the Owlery; he had a few letters to write. Tonight he would some clean to Peter and he wanted, no he needed the support of those closest to him.

~*~*~*Time Skip~*~*~*

That night at seven fifteen Sirius walked into the library and made his way to the secluded corner he and Severus shared a few days ago. His support system was already there and it consisted of Regulus, Severus, and Lily; all of them were clued in to what was going on with him and what happened during the summer. It made his stomach, which was full of knots, calm down a little; even if Peter shunned him he still had these three to support him.

With a smile he approached the table; the three people already seated rose to greet him and without a thought Sirius hugged his brother and Lily and to everyone's' surprise he kissed Severus gently on the cheek before they all sat down. The Black heir smirked in satisfaction when he saw the pretty blush decorating Severus' pale cheeks and the little flash of desire that flitted across those ebony eyes.

Well it seemed his little Prince was interested in him, well at least Severus' body was attracted to what Sirius had to offer; it was a start and the grey eyed male could build on that. He already knew he and Severus could get along and enjoyed each other's company he just needed to translate that enjoyment into of friendly activities into enjoyment of romantic ones.

Well he had time and he knew if Severus agreed to be courted by him they would be going through the process slowly anyway so Sirius would be patient with his adorable snake. Lily's voice broke him out of his hobby of Severus' watching and he turned to see Peter emerging from the rows of books, a look of confusion on his face when he saw the audience watching him approach.

Sirius stood as did the three others; "Hello Pete. Thanks for coming and I hope you'll listen and let me finish what I have to say before you do anything." Pettigrew still looked confused but he nodded and moved to sit at the chair Regulus pulled over for the newly arrived Gryffindor to sit in. Sirius retook his seat and faced his friend and fellow Marauder.

Lily sat next to Peter, offering him a familiar presence to ease his nerves while Regulus and Severus adjusted their chairs to flank Sirius, showing without words that they would support Sirius in whatever he said and would back him up if Peter wanted to do something harmful to the Black heir.

The small blonde noticed the silent support being given by Regulus and Severus; people he believed despised Sirius, and though he didn't comment on it he filed it away to think on later. He also had a feeling this odd occurrence would be explained when Sirius opened his mouth to explain what was going on with him lately and why his behavior changed so drastically since he returned from their summer break.

Sirius cleared his throat and began; "Peter, well I guess I should begin with saying I'm sorry for being so secretive about what has been happening with me. I couldn't talk to you until I sorted a few things out but now I need you to listen. I choose to tell you and not the other Marauders because you were raised by traditional pureblood parents and can understand why I did what I did."

Here he looked at Severus, silently asking permission for him to speak about his past home life. The onyx eyed teen closed those beautiful eyes before he opened them again and nodded minutely to let Sirius know it was alright, that the Prince heir trusted him in this instance. The eldest Black brother smiled at his crush and turned back to Peter who was still waiting patiently for Sirius to continue.

Before the Sirius went further Severus raised his wand and set up a Silencing Charm around them; it wouldn't do to be overheard at the moment. When the older Slytherin was done the older Black smiled at the onyx eyed teen and continued; "As I said you were raised traditionally as my parents tried to do with me."

"As you also know I rebelled against them and didn't listen when they, hell even when you sometimes, tried to point out things that didn't seem quite right with Dumbledore. I regret that now, maybe if I hadn't been so blind and stubborn I would have seen the Headmaster for the bastard he was."

Peter gasped and looked at Sirius with wide, shocked blue eyes; the Black heir stared back, letting his friend know he was being deadly serious, no pun intended, about what he was saying regarding the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts. The small blonde quietly spoke; "But why did you change your views, Siri? You, aside from James, always seemed to adore Dumbledore. What happened to change all that and make you avoid James?"

Sirius sighed and continued with his explanation; "Severus' father abused him, Peter. Dumbledore knew about it and did nothing; that old goat sent him back to an abusive house and did nothing to help him! Nothing Peter, nothing! How could he, the venerable, benign Albus Dumbledore do that to a child?"

"It was when Severus came seeking refuge at our house this summer that I was made to see what Dumbledore truly was and I had to come to face the fact that my parents were right in everything they said about the old coot. Well as you can imagine I got to thinking; if my parents were right about Dumbledore what else were they right about?"

"Through some soul searching I decided to reconnect and rebuild my relationship with my parents and Regulus. Also, I decided to give Severus a chance, something we never gave him before and I don't regret it, any of it. Peter, I have my family back; they support me and they love me and I love them. I have a great friend in Severus and hopefully one day I'll have more with him and I won't give any of them up for anything."

Here Sirius glanced over to look at the blushing Prince heir and gave the teen a gentle smile. Severus looked away but the older teen saw the way those soft lips quirked up into a small smile. Yup, his little snake was definitely interested in him. But back to the matter at hand; he could think about Severus later; "Lily already knows how I feel and what's going on and she supports me; do you, Pete?"

"Will you support me and stay by my side when I tell James and Remus about my new outlook on life?" The blue eyed boy sat there speechless but Sirius could see the intelligence shining in those pale orbs as Peter rifled through all he'd been told so he could form a response to Sirius question.

Finally, after a minute of silence the small Gryffindor spoke up; "I'm happy you finally understood what I've been trying to tell you about Dumbledore. I knew when I befriended James that he would be pro-Light but I never thought you would be too. I was surprised at first but you two, and Remus, accepted me even though I'm shy and a little awkward so I looked past your obvious favoritism for the Light and Dumbledore."

"But it did grate on me when you began to insult and condemn Slytherins; some of my family, my own Grandma, was a snake and it hurt to hear you speak of them like you did but I shut up since you were my friends and I didn't want to lose you all. It was the same reason as to why I never told you to back off Snape...er Prince, sorry."

"I should have said something but I was afraid you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore so I stayed quiet and didn't join in on the bullying, telling myself it wasn't my problem since I wasn't participating in the act itself. And it was bullying, Siri. We were cruel to Prince for no reason and we went out of our way to be foul to every Slytherin that crossed our way."

"I was a coward before but I feel like I should tell you how I feel now before we continue our friendship. I hated what you were becoming and despite the chance of my being alone if you and James continued with your hatred this year I was going to cut ties with Marauders and go my own way. It would have hurt to lose you but I couldn't stay silent and deny how I felt for the sake of being accepted."

"But now that's a moot point since you've come around and I'm glad you did since I consider you to be a good friend; a little hotheaded and insensitive but a good friend nonetheless. I still consider you to be a good friend and that isn't something I see changing so to answer your question of course I'll support you and back you up; I'm your friend, Siri, what else would I do?"

Sirius beamed at the small blonde boy and felt the tension flow out of him after Peter was done talking. He felt lighter knowing he still had at least on Marauder in his corner. True, Peter wasn't the bravest or most intimidating of the bunch but he was loyal to his beliefs and those he considered family.

Sirius never knew Peter was so bothered by his behavior during these past years and it showed him once again how blind he'd been not to notice how uncomfortable his friend was with James and his bullying and pranking. But now that the two of them had hashed out their differences Peter would be there for Sirius through thick and thin; something the Black heir was grateful for.

Regulus, Severus, and Lily were smiling; well Severus and Regulus were smirking at the Peter, but Sirius appreciated their attempts to welcome Pettigrew into their little group. Regulus looked at the short blonde and offered his hand; "Hello, Peter Pettigrew, my name's Regulus Black and it is a pleasure to meet you formally."

Peter smiled happily at the youngest Black son and shook his hand; "It's nice to finally meet you properly, Regulus, and I look forward to getting to know you. You as well, Severus Prince. I want to apologize to you, Prince. What we, what I, did was wrong and I am sorry that I never tried to stop them. I hope that we can get to know each other, leave our somewhat dark past behind us and move forward."

Once he was done with his little speech Peter released Regulus' hand and offered his to Severus to shake if he chose to. The Prince heir stared at the appendage for a moment before extending his hand and clasping Peter's; "I think that would be agreeable, Pettigrew." Sirius smiled at his brother and crush, thanking them both mentally for being so good about this.

Lily just nudged Peter's shoulder, not introducing herself since she and Peter were already acquainted and had no real issues to speak of; "Welcome to the group, Peter. Now how do you feel about the Dark Arts?" The four males just stared at Lily in slightly paniced exasperation before the girl blushed and nibbled her lip; "To forward?"

Sirius snorted quietly at the red head's severe understatement along with the rest of them but Severus was the one to speak after he waved his wand around and performed a complicated anti-Eavesdropping Spell, and added another much stronger Silencing Charm to boot, around them; "You think, Lily? Merlin, you have to remember that the Dark Arts can't be bandied about nonchalantly in conversation like we're only talking about the weather."

"We could get into serious trouble, shut up Sirius, if someone were to overhear us speaking about them. I don't even want to know what would happen if someone found out we were actually practicing them over the summer."

Lily looked properly scolded and murmured her apologies to them. Regulus just smirked at her; "Don't worry so much Evans; it's not the end of the world but in the future be careful before you speak about topics like the Dark Arts."

Lily nodded and remained quiet for now but Sirius knew it wouldn't last for long. The red headed witch had too much fire in her to stay down for long. Peter shifted in his chair, calling everyone's attention back onto him; "I practice the Dark Arts along with the other branches. My family sees magic as magic; Dark isn't evil just like Light isn't always good. So to answer Lily's question I do not have an issue with them at all as long as they are practiced responsibly."

The three dark males nodded in agreement to Pettigrew's words and Lily shifted to look at Peter; "Is it complicated? Practicing the Dark Arts I mean? I want to learn but I'm nervous to try it without a proper instructor." Peter looked thoughtful before speaking; "It isn't hard to practice them at all and that is what makes them so dangerous."

"The Dark Arts are remarkably simple to do but disastrous if they are done wrong or you take on too much before you can handle the magical strain on your core and sometimes if you very irresponsible you can damage your mind irreparably. I would recommend you seek out someone who has a advanced, working knowledge and a firm grasp on the Dark Arts to teach you before you attempt them on your own."

"However, it may not be easy to find someone who is willing to instruct you. They would be taking a huge risk by teaching you but I'm sure someone would do it if you were willing to take a Secrecy Oath or something of the like." Lily turned to Sirius; "Sirius, do you know anyone who would be willing to teach me, maybe during winter break?"

Sirius looked thoughtful before turning to his brother, giving him a look. The younger Black shrugged; "I would write them and see what they have to say before you agree to anything, Siri." The older grey eyed male turned to Lily; "I can write to my parents and see if they would be agreeable to teaching you. Mind you my mother would probably be the one to supervise you since my father is busy teaching the three of us about Head of House responsibilities and more advanced Dark Arts."

Lily smiled; "That would be great, Sirius, and I'll be happy with whatever your mom decides to do with my teaching so long as she agrees to teach me at all. I'm itching to learn about these Dark Arts and I feel like I'm missing out on so much information because of a few close-minded idiots and their prejudices against Dark magic."

Regulus acknowledged Lily's accurate summation of why the Dar Arts were illegal with a slight tilt of his head; "Indeed, many magical people fear the Darker magics because they require a great deal more magical power then Light or Neutral magic; it puts people on edge. That being said you, Evans, may not be able to practice every facet of the Darker magics due to your lower amount of raw magical strength."

"That being said you will still be able to practice them but your limit will be lower than mine or Sirius. It's no big deal, really. You just have to be careful not to overdo it and strain your core and body too much. Like Pettigrew said it can cost you your mind if you push yourself too far past your limits or you emerse yourself into the Darker Arts too fast."

"But as much as I'd like to stay I have some homework to do for Potions. It was nice meeting you, Pettigrew. Evans, Sirius, I'll see you later. Coming, Severus?" The Prince heir stood and began to bid the three Gryffindors goodbye and Sirius smiled when the shorter raven blushed when he looked at the Black heir during his farewell. The onyx eyed teen turned positively red when Sirius stood, swooped in, and stole a small kiss from Severus' soft lips.

Regulus rolled his eyes and grasped Severus' bicep and began to pull the Prince heir away from his smitten brother. The older grey eyed wizard smirked at his crush, loving the flushed face and wide, dark eyed look on his gorgeous interest's face; "See you later, Regulus. Sweet dreams, my Severus." The older Slytherin bit his lower lip and turned away from the three lions and strode quickly out of the library.

Regulus trailed behind him, looking quite amused with the circumstances surrounding his brother and Severus. No doubt the younger Black son would tease his fellow serpent when the other least expected it. Sirius turned back to his friends and grinned; "Ready to go back to the Common Room?"

Lily smiled and hooked her arms around Sirius' and Peter's so each boy was on either side of her; "Yup, let's go then before curfew falls. I do not fancy dealing with Filch tonight."

Sirius silently agreed about seeing Filch; the man was a horror and he wondered why the hell the man remained at the school if he despised being there so much? Not to forget the fact that the man hated the students with a passion and would like nothing more than to hang them by their thumbs in the dungeons.

With a shiver Sirius pushed that thought out of his head and together the three lions strode out of the library; the Black heir gave Madam Pince a jaunty little wink and wave before they exited. The grey eyed teen yelped when Lily elbowed him in the side and scolded him to behave himself for once.

Pouting the tall raven haired boy allowed the pushy red head to lead him and Peter to the Gryffindor Common Room. He really didn't mind being manhandled at all really as a matter of fact he was feeling quite good at the moment; everything had worked out for him and he was grateful it had. Peter was a good friend to him and he would have hated to lose that because of his new choices and way of life.

However, just like he wouldn't change his course for James he wouldn't have backed down to keep his friendship with Peter going either. This was the path he knowingly and freely chose to go down and people could join him or they could leave him be but no one would manipulate him or sway him from the road he'd chosen to travel. To hell with anyone who had an issue with it; they could all hang.

When they walked into the Common Room he ignored James' glare and Remus' questioning look in favor of hugging Lily goodbye and clapping Peter on the back before he ascended the stairs to prepare for bed. Maybe he would do some homework in the quiet of his dorm room? That sounded like a plan to him.

That plan, unfortunately, was not to be when James burst into the room when Sirius was walking out of the bathroom clothed in his pajama pants. The minute the Potter heir saw Sirius he began to shout; "What the hell were you doing with Lily? Are you trying to be with her?! She's mine...you know how I feel for her! What the hell Sirius I thought we were best mates!"

The tall raven just stared blankly at the yelling monkey in front of him while he collected his thoughts; "I hardly see how it is any of your business what I'm doing with Lily. But if you must know we were studying and as for her being yours I don't bloody think so. You should really curb your obsession James before it gets you in trouble."

"Did it ever occur to you that Lily doesn't like you like you like her and your constant attention is actually pushing her away from you? You know what I don't really care what you think about this. Now if you'll excuse me I have homework to do and I would like some quiet to do it in. Good night, Potter."

James was stunned before his eyes hardened and his lips pressed into a firm line; "So it's Potter now, is it? What happened to you, Sirius? You used to be my best mate and now you're acting like a stuck up Slytherin ponce. Next thing you know you'll be hanging out with that little faggot Snape."

Sirius moved so damn quickly he was almost a blur, within two seconds he was in front of James and throwing a vicious jab right to bespectacled boy's nose. He felt oddly satisfied when he heard the telltale cracking noise that delineated that his former best friend's nose was broken; good then he got a little payback for Severus.

James jumped away from Sirius' fuming form and grasped his now broken and bleeding nose. The look he gave Sirius screamed betrayal but the grey eyed teen didn't give a damn; James had gone too far when he insulted Severus this time and it was time for Potter to know the score. This wasn't how the Black heir wanted to tell his former friend but it was what it was; no one would insult his love interest again if he could help it.

"Listen Potter and listen good because I will not repeat myself again. Severus Circinus Prince is under the protection of the Ancient and Noble House of Black and in the near future, if I get my way, he will be my betrothed; you would be wise to leave him be and cease any actions that may be considered threatening or harmful toward Severus."

"If anything untoward happens to Severus due to your actions I will destroy you and your family. The House of Potter really doesn't want to have any issues with the House of Black now would it? I dare say picking a fight with not only the heir to the House of Black but the heir to the House of Prince would be very stupid and borderline social suicide for your House wouldn't it?"

"This will be the only time I warn you, James Charlus Potter, and you will be wise to heed my words or you will be very unhappy with what will happen should I find out you hurt Severus in any way. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." With that he turned away and almost sighed in annoyance when he saw James go for his wand from the corner of his eye.

With a flick of his wrist Sirius' wand was firmly in his palm before James had a chance to fully draw his; another twenty seconds later and James was Stupified on the ground. Sirius sighed and moved toward his bed, placing his wand on the nightstand and retrieving his books and supplies from his bag, which rested against the side of his four-poster bed.

Enjoying the hard-earned quiet the Black heir began to write his twelve inch paper on the techniques to use when trimming Devil's Snare; thank Godric he'd somewhat listened to Peter during Herbology class. He worked quietly into the night, completely ignoring James body lying on the floor until Remus and Peter entered the room and gasped when they saw the Potter boy on the ground.

Remus moved to assist James while Peter moved to stand by Sirius' bed, watching as Remus cast the counter-charm to awaken the downed teenager. Remus began to question James but the bespectacled teen said nothing and stomped into the bathroom; he gave Sirius an angry glare before he slammed the door closed.

The werewolf looked at Sirius in confusion but said nothing; that was the great thing about Remus he left you alone until you were ready to talk about it. With a sigh the grey eyed wizard gave up on finishing his essay and put his things away, giving Peter a smile before he grabbed his wand and slipped under his covers.

He said goodnight to his two dorm mates and flicked his wand to close the curtains around his bed. Not taking any chances Sirius spelled them closed and set an alarm to go off if anyone tried to open them from the outside; he wouldn't put it past James to try to do something against his person while he slept.

After he finished securing his surroundings the raven haired teen spelled his mouth clean before setting his alarm via his wand to wake him in the morning. Done with his spell casting Sirius slipped his wand under his pillow and laid down to sleep.

Even after his long due confrontation with James Sirius' mood was still bright; he'd kissed Severus on the mouth earlier and the other boy hadn't hexed him! He knew he told himself he would take it slow but it was so difficult to do when he saw that adorable face and those gorgeous dark eyes; Severus Prince's blush was also addictive and Sirius didn't think he would ever get tired of seeing it grace his love interest's sculpted cheekbones.

Besides Severus hadn't hexed him yet so obviously the guy felt something for him; right? Well he would see tomorrow and he swore he would allow Severus to have some space to come to terms with that Sirius wanted and wait for the other teen to come to him properly, not just give him coy little looks and smiles; well he would try but who knew what would happen when he got into close proximity of that delightful body and enticing face.

With a shrug of his broad shoulders Sirius settled further into his soft bed and closed his eyes, delightful pictures of a blushing Prince danced across his mind's eyes almost guaranteeing that his dreams tonight wouldn't be innocent or clean but then again Sirius wouldn't complain, not at all.

Alright the confrontation with James has gone down but it won't be the end of it. I believe James is too stupid to get the hint the first time but he will eventually.

Lily will be paired with someone unexpected but I like the randomness of the pairing. Peter will be paired with someone odd as well but you'll just have to wait and see. Peter is the way I want him to be; he will not be Canon compliant at all but this is how I'm choosing to do this fic.

And the Dark Lord will be making an appearance soon as will a few of my favorite Death Eaters; YAY! : )

Also, I have turned off my PM's and the alert that lets me know when someone reviews to see why read my profile.

As Always All Mistakes Are My Own!